Instincts
by Sylvannastar
Summary: The great Inu TaiYoukai of the West if faced with many challenges. His two greatest enemies have merged into one and he must find a way to fight his instincts concerning the TWO humans travelling with him. SessKag
1. Default Chapter

This is my first attempt at both ff and posting so I f any visible problems occur that I miss, Please Please tell me! 

Just a note...I am writing simply for the pleasure of writing and though I will appreciate support and constructive critism, please no hurtful flames.

This may be slow moving cuz I use the hunt and peck method of typing. This will be a Sess/Kag story.

Sylvannastar

Oh! And I own nothing (sigh) The characters are all part of that wonderful series and manga: Inuyasha

Instinct

Part 1

The Scent of Roses

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'_Nothing in my life is going right lately. Nothing at all.' _Kagome kicked her feet in the shallow water of the creek. The cold water rushing between her bare toes soothed the lingering flame of temper she had earlier allowed full reign on that miserable _baka_ hanyou Inuyasha. She gritted her teeth and felt her cheeks flush as she failed to put the incident from her mind. 

It wasn't that Inuyasha had rushed off to see Kikyo. No, she was used to that. That was a familiar pain that she had grown rather numb to. Lately she found herself more annoyed than angry when Kikyo was mentioned or when that idiot got the vacant look of a lost cow when he thought of the dead miko. No, it was that even after three years, the moron still couldn't treat her like a friend. Even that was something she was used to, Kagome admitted to herself. The reason she had been so pissed was that he blamed her for not obtaining the shikon shard that she detected at the moment he was running to his precious corpse. "It isn't like they are pressed for time." She grumbled to herself and kicked her feet harder, sending a silvery spray of water over her legs. "She is already dead and Inuyasha is half demon. Who knows how long he will live." she sighed heavily. 

She felt herself growing mad all over again. Inuyasha had slunk back from his rendevous with Kikyo and was itching for a fight. Apparently things had not gone well for him with the soul-stealing woman. So, upon his return, he had sought out Kagome as a convenient outlet for his frustrations and had the audacity to accuse her of not having her priorities straight. Inuyasha's voice when he first found her still echoed in her mind. _"Just where have you been?" he snarled._

Kagome had in fact been running all over the countryside chasing the feeling of the shikon shard with Miroku, Shippo and Sango and Kirara, but they had never seemed to get any closer to it until it suddenly seemed to vanish. There were only four known pieces, other than the ones that she held, left to gather before all the pieces were accounted for. Naraku still held the greatest chunk of the ill fated jewel. Kagome held three shards in her glass vial she kept around her neck. That left Kouga's two shards and Kohaku's one. The last shard was said to be in the land of the dead and they had yet to find a way to retrieve it. So either Kouga, Kohaku, or Naraku was nearby and any one of those three always meant trouble in some form or fashion.

Kagome sighed again. She had no right to remain angry and bitterness just didn't sit well with her. Everyone who had dealings with the shards had suffered. She glanced down and saw how the water that had splashed her legs had left clean trails through the dust and grime that seemed to have glued itself to her skin through out the day. A limp and rather pitiful lock of her dark hair hung in her face and she grimaced at that bit of herself cross-eyed, feeling as if it had betrayed her. Kagome hated to be dirty. She wiggled her toes in the water again. It was cold....she grinned suddenly more lighthearted than she had felt in a while....but she would be clean. Her eyes took on the sparkle that was normally a part of her, she took a breath and then pushed herself off the bank into the clear water. She shrieked in shock and laughter. She had known it would be cold but that didn't diminish the pleasure she still felt at the simple act of spontaneously throwing herself into the water fully clothed. And she was the kind of person that could appreciate every moment for what it offered without being too preoccupied with the past or the future. _'We learn from even the most painful experiences'_ Kagome thought to herself. _ It was a stupid person indeed that couldn't enjoy the good moments in their life because of the weight of the bad moments_. With that thought, she dived under the water and shook her hair to loosen the dirt. 

When she resurfaced she almost screamed in surprise to see a pair of eyes staring down at her. Almost. They were beautiful eyes, big brown ones surrounded by a fringe of dark lashes. And they peered down on her with a look of concern and curiosity. They were set in the face of a cute little girl who bore the marks and stains of traveling on her own dirty features. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats before the girl took a very deep breath... and started talking. And she never stopped. 

"Kogome-chan!" the little girl began. "Rin did not think that she would see you again! Why are you in the water? Did you fall in? Rin fell in a pond once--" and on and on it went. Kagome smiled and didn't even bother trying to answer. When the child paused to suck in some much needed air Kagome broke in.

"Hello Rin." she was truly pleased to see the little girl again. She was a good child that sparkled with good natured happiness and an optimism that rivaled the tragedy that the child had experienced in her short life. Kagome thought of the last time that she had seen the girl. She had been running after Inuyasha's half brother. The Demon Lord Sesshoumaru was a mystery to Kagome but she had never taken the time to try to unravel the puzzle he presented. She was usually preoccupied with just staying alive. But the thought of that particular youkai being close by unnerved her a bit considering the number of times that he had tried killing Inuyasha and his companions which included her. Kagome was fond of her own skin even if it was a bit dirty and worn at the moment and had no desire to lose her life now. She glanced around nervously...and saw nothing.

Rin was still talking. 

Kagome looked hesitantly at the large yellow bag a few feet from where Rin was still crouched talking about..._frogs? _ Kagome smiled when she realized the girl was talking about Jaken. Sesshoumaru's loyal but evil servant. Then she caught what the child was trying to explain to her.

"--and we couldn't find any food for Rin to steal and Jaken said we should go back to Sesshoumaru-sama but Rin was so hungry and knew there was food somewhere close by and now Jaken lost himself and Rin is hungry and tired and alone and--"

Kagome laughed when she heard Rin say that Jaken was the one who was lost. She shook her head at the hopeless situations she knew Rin must put up with when traveling with Jaken and the Youkai Lord. Knowing that the threat of her guardians showing up all of a sudden had just diminished, Kagome relaxed and floated on her back for a short time. Her clothes were plastered to her but she reasoned that they would have had to be washed anyway. 

"Rin," she interrupted the child. The girl cocked her head to one side and considered the wet woman below her. "I have some food, but I want to finish cleaning off first. If you would like to wait, I can fix you something to eat." She grinned at the exuberant reply that Rin blessed her with. She bounced and sang a happy thank you and without hesitation tried to throw her arms around Kagome in a hug. Somehow, she had forgotten that Kagome was chest deep in water. 

When Kagome lifted the sputtering child in her arms, Rin stated a bit more subdued, " Rin is wet." 

"Well, now you can help me wash up then!" Kagome teased. _She looked like she needed a good bath anyway_, Kagome thought. She reached for the front pocket of her bag and pulled out an assortment of items that she would need for herself and the child. She knew that her companions would be setting up camp a distance away and they would leave her alone like she had asked, for some time yet. They respected her space when she needed to be alone, unlike Inuyasha. But after the "SIT" she had given him he would be too angry with her to follow after her for a while. 

Rin had never had a bath like that before in her life. Kagome used what time she had with the child to scrub off every trace of dirt and washed and conditioned the child's hair with soaps and shampoos that she had brought from her own time. Rin loved it. When they where clean and toweled dry, Kagome gave the child a choice of three scented lotions, which were her favorites from home, to keep. Rin chose to wear and keep the delicate rose scented lotion in a pink plastic bottle. She ohhed and ahhed over her gift while Kagome took out some Ramen containers and began to boil some water. The girl hadn't eaten in two days and a quick meal seemed to be the most considerate at this time. Kagome could sacrifice taste for speed without complaint when the situation demanded it. While the water was heating, Kagome took great care to pamper the child a bit more. 

Kagome was dressed in a short blue sun dress that she had in her pack while Rin look ridiculously cute in an oversized green t-shirt while waiting for her clothes to dry. Rin relaxed against Kagome while the older girl gently pulled a pink comb through her ragged hair. She sighed happily. "My mother used to comb my hair," Rin said suddenly and then fell silent. A quiet Rin was not normal. Neither was one who wasn't speaking in the third person. Rin spoke of herself that way because she did not think much of herself. Her new guardian did it for the opposite reason. He seamed to think very highly of himself. Kagome paused in her brushing strokes and smoothed the dark mass down with her free hand. 

_How should I reply to that?! _Kagome wondered. She was saved from having to come up with a suitable response when the girl turned and offered a shy "thank you" then turned back around and hummed softly to herself. "Rin wishes her hair was as pretty as Kagome-chans." the girl said wistfully. 

"But it is!" Kagome exclaimed. The girl looked over her shoulder skeptically. "I have some scissors in my pack and I can trim it up for you, if you like Rin."

Rin nodded enthusiastically. Kagome let the child eat as soon as the food was ready and was not surprised when the girl did not turn down a second helping. Everyone here seemed to have a special fondness for the instant food. Rin was no exception. When the meal was finished, Kagome packed her things back up. The sun was slowly making its way west and dark was not far off. Kagome frowned.

"Rin? When did Jaken get lost from you?" Kagome asked. It seemed strange that no one had come for the girl yet. Sesshoumaru would never admit it openly, but he was rather protective of the girl and Kagome did not believe he would suddenly change his mind and abandon her. He struck her as the kind of person that took responsibility for his actions and once a decision was made, he stuck by it. _What am I thinking? Where would I get an idea like that? I don't know anything about the guy...accept that he is scary, and powerful, and determined and beautiful...Beautiful? _Kagome shook her head at that. _When would I have noticed something as trivial as that? Before or after he's swinging a sword at my head?_

She stood up and stretched the kinks from her back and looked about her. 

Rin sat there looking adorable and lost all at the same time. "Two days ago Jaken lost Rin" the girl replied. She frowned down at the grass and wildflowers that surrounded her. "Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin to be good for Jaken and for Jaken to take care of Rin because he had to go away for some days." She held up six fingers to show Kagome and frowned again. "Sesshoumaru-sama does not yet know that Rin is not with Jaken." 

_Six days_..._four more days before someone would come for the child. _Kagome looked around worriedly. _What should I do? I can't leave her here alone and bringing her to the group would just cause trouble with everyone. Not because she's a kid but because of who she belongs to..._Kagome had no faith that the toad Jaken would find the child before Sesshoumaru's return from wherever he had gone. There had to be something...

Kogome suddenly had an idea. "Rin, can you stay here with the bags? I must do a few things and then I will be right back. Can you do this for me?" 

Rin nodded her head again and smiled. "Rin can watch the bag, Kagome-chan." 

Kagome glanced at the darkening sky and waved quickly at the girl before dashing off to meet the others in her group. Rin watched her go, trusting that she would come back. She was happy with Sesshoumaru-sama, but Kagome made her feel like she was loved, wanted. She was struck by the thought that if she had Sesshoumaru-sama and Kagome with her, she would feel complete. 

Rin smiled and began to daydream of her perfect new family.


	2. A Good Lie

Since I have at least six chapters already written, I'm going to post all that I have before writing more...

No characters belong to me...

Enjoy...

Part 2

A Good Lie

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She ran east a short time before she spotted the fire that indicated the camp. As she approached, she was tackled by a small ball of fur and warm warms. Shippo gazed lovingly at his mother figure and hugged her tightly to him. 

"We were worried, Kagome!" the kitsuni said snuggling closer. "You smell like"...he took a big breath, "...flowers."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat. _Thank goodness Rin had used the lotion. It's covering her scent enough to keep Shippo and Inuyasha from smelling Sesshoumaru's ward. There would have been some ackward questions to answer..._

"Feh." Inuyasha said with his head turned away from her.

"I'm okay," Kagome reassured the fox kit. "I just need a break. We all do." Miroku and Sango looked relieved at this. The day had really been a mess. And it was part of a long string of bad days. 

Inuyasha turned arround and glared at Kagome. "We don't have time to take breaks now!" he yelled. "We have to find the Jewel Shards. It's the most important thing right now!"

Four sets of eyes narrowed and glared at the hanyou, each reliving the hell the day had become while Inuyasha had been chasing after the dead. Literally. For once Inuyasha was not oblivious to the emotions of the others around him. He scrunched down and scowled at the dirt but said nothing more. His ears flicked once when Kagome huffed and he cringed, expecting another "SIT!"

When it didn't come he growled in annoyance. Kagome was never predictable.

At that moment Kagome was preoccupied with thoughts of the little girl all alone at the creek bend. Worry was not something new to her but she couldn't share this particular worry with anyone. 

She turned to Sango. "Do you suppose I could borrow Kirara? The well would only be a few hours away flying, and you could all follow in the morning. We could meet at Keade's in five days?"

Kagome held her breath while the others considered the offer. Inuyasha growled again. Sango and Miroku looked relaxed and cheery, nodding in agreement.

Shippo looked at his feet. "I want to see your world someday," he mumbled. Kagome hugged him.

Kirara fluffed up and changed so that Kagome could climb on her back. She hated lying to them, but couldn't see any way arround it. Sango would understand, but Miroku and Inuyasha were hopeless. Shippo would be the one that her deception would hurt the most...she sighed. 

She climbed up on the two-tailed cat, feeling the worst kind of friend. She glanced down at a glum Shippo and gave him a weary half smile. Then, knowing she would regret it, she motioned for the little fox to join her. The change in him was so drastic that it was funny. _ I couldn't stand the look of disappointment in his eyes if I don't share this with him. He was like her own... her own little child. It was a good lie...for a good reason._

"We will see you in five days then." Sango called out to her. Kagome gave them a nervous smile and Kirara kicked off the ground.

"Bitch," Inuyasha mumbled.

"SIT!" 

"I think she heard you." Miroku smiled in glee.

Inuyasha tried to growl again but it came out sounding like a groan.


	3. Mothers' Instinct

Note: remember I am only writing this for my own enjoyment! I hope you can appreciate this and do not flame me!

See previous chapters for disclaimer

Part 3

Mothers' Instinct

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Kagome squirmed and wriggled. Her mind was a jumble of guilt and relief and hope that things would turn out okay. _Five days...Sesshoumaru should arrive for Rin in four. That should keep everyone out of his way. I don't want another fight. If they saw one another, they would feel obligated to try to kill eachother. _Kagome thought of Inuyasha's other meetings with his brother and shivered. _What was she doing!?_

Shippo could tell something was bothering Kagome. He was young, but he wasn't stupid. He figured that she would tell him or else why would she have invited him along for the ride to Kaede's?

"Kirara, my things are right over there to the left." She took a deep breath. "There is someone there I think you have already met." Kirara looked over one cream shoulder at Kagome and then began her decent to the ground. 

Shippo looked surprised. He leapt on to Kagome's shoulder and peered at her closely. _Who could be there_? 

As Kirara landed softly near Kagome's things, the last glimmer of light from the setting sun sparkled on the now clean and shiny hair of a sleeping little girl. Kirara grunted and sniffed the air, tails twitching in aggitation. She recognized the little girl and was not happy with her part in deceiving the others. She looked around for the danger she knew must be close by. She could sense nothing. She looked reproachfully at Kagome and waited. 

Shippo finally saw who it was and squeaked in fear. He grasped onto Kagome's hair and tugged to get her moving. His voice had temporarily failed him.

"Please," Kagome began, "just listen for a moment. She's lost. She needs us to help her right now. I know this isn't what you expected but I couldn't leave her. She's just a child."

"But...But, Kagome!" The fox kit had found his voice at last and it sounded harsh and angry even to his own ears. " He'll Kill Us!" he shouted. "We have to go now! We have to tell Inuyasha!" 

"No, Shippo!" Kagome exclaimed "That is the last thing we should do!" 

She sat down slowly and held her arms out to the kitsuni. He filled them immeadiately. Concern and fear flashing across his face. Kirara hadn't moved.

"Shippo," Kagome began, "Sesshoumaru isn't here. And he won't be back for four more days. Rin is all alone till then. I can't leave her like this anymore than I could have left you behind when we found you. Try to understand..."

Shippo shivered but he was listening. Kirara stared intently at the girl. She was curled up like a kitten in the cold. She saw a shiver pass over the small frame and changed into the small demon cat form that she used when not fighting or carrying others around. She approached the girl slowly and sniffed at a well-scrubbed cheek. When another shudder wracked the child Kirara seemed to make up her mind and settled next to the child's back and wrapped her tails over the girl's arms. Kagome was right. This was a child and children needed to be cared for. Kagome smiled at Kirara's instinct to protect the child even though the girl was the danger at the moment. 

"Will he kill us?" Shippo asked in a small voice from somewhere tucked under her chin. 

"I don't think so, Shippo. He has always attacked us for the Tetsusaiga before. He would have no reason to hurt us if the sword is not with us. I believe he is ..." She paused looking for a word that would make sense out of a Youkai she had doubts about herself, "....honorable." 

"So, what _are_ we going to do?"

"We are going to go to the well. Then, once I've restocked, I need to go further west. To wait." She didn't have to finish who she would be waiting for. "The others won't be expecting me to come back from my time for five days. Rin should be with her guardian by then and I'll have time to get back before they realize something isn't right. They won't need to know that I was not in my world." She sighed again. _This is so stressfull. A few days for a break had sounded so good too._

A soft sigh signaled Shippo's defeat but Kirara seemed to need a bit more persueding. A small arm encircled the cat and cuddled against the warmth that she offered. She mewwed softly at the stirring girl. When Rin sat up rubbing her eyes, Kirara remained at her side watching as she yawned and stretched.When the little girl's eyes focused on the cat, she smiled sleepily and scooped the startled demon cat into her lap. "Rin had a good dream that she had a whole family and lived in the forest with lots of pretty flowers." She had not hesitated to pick up the strange animal and was proceeding to rub her face in the soft fur around Kirara's neck. She stopped cuddling the beast and grinned at Shippo. "Hello!" 

Shippo felt his jaw drop._ The girl had absolutely no fear! To wake up with two strangers standing over you and not react afraid at all! _Shippo was impressed. _Well, she did live with Sesshoumaru and all..._

Kirara seemed dismayed. She seemed to like the girl well enough if her purring was anything to go by. She flipped her tails again and then disentangled herself from the childs arms. This child needed a mother. And there was no better mother than....Kirara looked at Kagome and changed back into her large demon form. She hung her head in shame but couldn't deny Kagome or the child Rin. After all, she was a female and it seemed natural to want to save the child from the disasters that were bound to catch up with her if she were left on her own.

Kagome watched the girl wake up and was prepared to have to explain again the situation. Rin was not the normal child and when she woke up so trusting of her surroundings, Kagome was speechless.

_Why do I suddenly feel so sorry for Jaken!_ When she saw Kirara lend her support, Kagome was filled with relief. _ This crazy scheme may just work out. _

When everything was arranged to Kagome and Kirara's satisfaction, they sailed into the air, flying westward where the cresent moon hung heavily in the sky. 


	4. Jaken's Life, Death and Life Again

I do not own any Inuyasha characters!

Part 4

Jaken's Life and Death, and Life Again.

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"That damn brat! " Jaken raged to himself. "Stupid human..." Muffled curses and grunts followed as he pushed his way through the underbrush looking for the child. "Ahhh! Sesshoumaru-Sama will never forgive me for disobeying his orders. But I, Jaken have been a good and loyal servant...why should I babysit that dumb-" He was suddenly cut off from finishing that complaint when he the ground below his feet wrenched and opened under him. "EEEeeeeeppppp!" 

"ouch" 

The ground under his face was solid rock and the dust and debris that had fallen with him made it very difficult for Jaken to discover anything else about his surroundings. He sat up and tenderly explored the rising bump over his left eye. "I hate her." a picture of Rin's smiling face hovered just in front of the headache he could feel forming in his brain. With a sigh he picked himself off the floor and looked up. "This is all her fault. Insisting she has to eat every few days...pitiful...." he kept rambling on to himself while he waited for the dust to clear the air. He held the Staff of Heads loosely in the crook of one arm and rubbed his eyes. 

"ohhh...." Jaken could see the opening that he had fallen through but it was very far up. Unfortunately he was not the kind of youkai that had the strength to fly and climbing the muddy walls seemed impossible. He blinked his big bulbous eyes in the dim light. Then he fell to his knees and wailed.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Why did we have to take that stupid human with us? Everything was fine until she joined us!" He sniffed. "Idiot! Idiot! Stupid girl..." 

_Well, most things were fine, _he conceeded. _Sesshoumaru-sama was always so strong and perfect and predictable before...I remember the first time I saw his face...ahh he was so perfect. I will serve him until the day I die,_ Jaken vowed. _Even if it means that I have to watch over the human. I won't fail him now after all these years._

He jumped a few feet into the air and fell miserably short of the lip of the hole. He leapt up again and again and each time he was a few inches shorter then the last jump until he was panting and slumped against one rock wall. "Sesshoumaru-sama.." he croaked.

He looked up and glared at the opening in anger. "I won't fail you again!" He tried taking a running start at the edge of one wall and climbing up the other but slid down in the mudd. When the dim light disappeared from above him and total darkness swallowed the toad Youkai, he gulped and stood with his staff ready. _I really shouln't have shouted. _A strange chain clinked as it was lowered into the hole by the thing that was blocking the light above. He glanced at the chain suspiciously before demanding to know who was waiting at the lip of the hole. There was no answer.

He glared at the dark silouette above him. _There is no help for it. I have to get out of here. _He grabbed the cold metal and began to climb. With one dirty grey-green hand he hoisted himself over the last ridge of rock and stared at his savior. His yellow eyes were wide naturally but they now bulged in terror at the face that greeted him. He didn't even have time to yell when he felt the burning sensation and the trickle of his own blood as his throat was slashed. _I should have just stayed in the hole..."_

_Everything is black. I'm dead. Again. _Jaken seemed resigned to his fate and was calm about the fact that he was now dead. Something tickled his nose and he sneezed. _Nani? I'm not dead? _he opened one eye cautiously and found himself alone and above ground. The marks, scars and scents around him told him that he had not imagined things. Naraku had been here along with the human boy exterminator. The Staff of Heads was still at his side and it was the wind blowing the dead hair into his face that had finally woke him. It was early morning so he knew he had lost the whole of the past day and the night had come and gone. He looked around, and then, ducked for cover. _What had happened? _

He wasn't sure if he truely wanted to know.


	5. A Warm Wind

I hope someone is reading this!

I do not own any of the characters that I am using in this story!

Part 5

A Warm Wind

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A stray strand of long silver hair danced in front of a set of beautiful golden eyes. Sesshoumaru ignored it. He ignored most things. But he couldn't ingore this. The empty camp where he had left Jaken and Rin bore no signs that they had been there recently. A faint trail of scent led him to know that they went northwest. He was annoyed that they weren't there, and completely unconcerned as to what excuses that Jaken would make for their absence. He was back sooner than he had intended to be and was ready to keep moving.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and stepped into the sunlight. _I'm surrounded by idiots. _The golden 

eyes blinked in the harsh light of the morning sun. _Jaken may be annoying and mostly useless, _

_but he is loyal. He should be here. _Then the Youkai Lord stepped through the camp and followed

the scentof his two greatest headaches. 

Though to the casual observer, he seemed as if he were out for a simple morning stroll, Sesshoumaru was in fact getting increasingly more agitated. _Those two must have wandered in circles for a full day. How annoying.... _If he had not been following their trail and making those same damn circles now, he might have found something amusing about this. Instead, he felt like a fool walking around in his own territory. "If anyone saw me now I would have to kill them just to keep my pride intact," he muttered. He gazed with seeming disinterest at the wild and beautiful surroundings that Rin and Jaken had visited. In truth, he noticed because it was his. These were the western lands and they were his, just as they were his fathers before him. Sesshoumaru was proud of his heritage and of the natural beauty that surrounded him when in his home. 

Unfortunately, that home was always being threatened. Sesshoumaru had worked hard as a child to be worthy of the great responsibility that he would gain when the west became his. He had not, however, yet gained the status or strength that his father had once had. His father had first fallen when he took that human woman to mate. Now, whenever he, Sesshoumaru, came close to matching the might and status due to him, Inuyasha brought more dishonor to the family name. The ridicule and disrespect that this caused was not something that Sesshoumaru could forgive and soon, when he had his fathers swords, he could be content in the knowledge that no future threats could damage these lands or the people in them. 

Sesshoumaru did not truely hate humans, he just found them to be useless and beneath him. He had little respect for few humans. If they were in his way, he moved them. If they caused problems with his territory, he dispenced of the trouble. Any other time, they were ignored. Except for a few who just would not leave his mind in the quietest hours. The ones who had caused him to wonder if the human race may have a few redeeming qualities...

The grass did not even russel under his feet as he walk. When he finally came to a stop, he had his head bowed and he was staring intently at the ground in front of him. _He lost her. _Sesshoumaru looked to the west where Rin's scent led and then searched the far northern path from the corner of his golden eyes to discover Jaken's destination. _I gave him one order. One. _Sesshoumaru's eyes hardened into angry lines. _I expected better. _Other then the tense look around the corners of his eyes and the hard set of his mouth, there was no sign of how he was reacting to this turn of events. _That, _he thought, _was my mistake._

Jaken was on his own. He was after all a yuokai. He was a lesser demon, but he was better equiped to handle trouble than the human child. So Sesshoumaru turned his attention and his thoughts west where Rin had wandered. _Rin...why am I even concerned? She is human...she is..._Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a second to find a reason that would make sense to him that he would be concerned about the welfare of a human child he had saved. It bewildered him the way he had taken her in and the way she had worked her way into becoming someone important enough to try to find when she got lost. _She is....mine. _He felt unsatisfied with the answers that he provided for himself but could not explain it better then that. _I gave her life. That life is now my responsibility to keep safe. I chose to take her in. Now I choose to keep her. My responsibility..._

The warm wind played daringly with the long strands of silver hair and ruffled the fur of the InuYoukai Lord's tail as he began the next part of his journey toward a change in his life that he never could have imagined. Rin had changed him and he knew it. Though he was not yet sure of the results or the extent of that change he could feel it inside of him. Because he was still lacking the knowledge of what was different, he felt he had lost a measure of control over himself. And the Lord of the Western Lands prized control. It was one of the things that he had achieved in himself that even his father had lacked. Inuyasha was like his father in that way...without control. And that lack of control was easy to anticipate...and so, was easy to defeat. 

His amber eyes blinked slowly as he contempated his next move. _I have a responsibilty to take care of Rin. I have determined that...I need to be in control at all times to be fitting for my station. Rin is a threat to my duties. How do I fullfill both obligations? _

He stared into the distance where he could hear the water of a nearby steam trickle past for a minute. Then he had the answer. _Mate. _He looked disgusted with himself. He was young yet, for a Youkai, and had no desire to choose a mate. All the simpering Youkai women had their uses, he could admit, but he knew how quickly he would get bored of one female when he chose to take one. Even his father had the morals of, well, a dog. His father was never loyal to his mother while she lived but neither of them expected that they should be. Sesshoumaru's mother, like his father, entertained others whenever the urge took her. It wasn't until he fell in love with a human woman that Sesshoumaru saw his father act with honor toward a female. And she was human...By then, Sesshoumaru had already grown and found himself disgusted by the bonds between happiliy and unhappily mated couples. It was foolishness and it did not interest him to bind himself to one female_. Besides that, where would I find a mate willing to take in a human child? _He snorted at the thought. _Perhaps an unwilling mate, then? I could certainly persuade the youkai women easily enough and we might even enjoy the chase... for a time......No. What other options do I have? Who would want to take care of a human child?_

He continued walking until he reached an opening in the tree line that gave him a view of a peaceful hillside covered in wildflowers and tall grass that sloped down into the stream he had previously heard in the distance. He could see the stalks and a path bare of flowers that the child had followed. Her strange fasination with flowers and picking every one that she saw irritated him. That she did this did not bother him. It was that she felt that she had to give them to him. Even after all this time, she still offered him the mangled things knowing that he rarely accepted her offerings. 

Suddenly, the wind changed direction and Sesshoumaru could smell...another human. He tested the air and recognized the scent. It was Inuyasha's mate, the tiny kitsune they traveled with, and the cat demon. The scent of his half-brother and the other humans was missing but he was already thinking about other things. The trail was only a day old. _They have Rin_. Sesshoumaru's eyes blazed red for a moment. _And I fully intend to get her back_. Sesshoumaru heard himself growl low in his throat. _That damn Hanyou and his companions know she is mine. Inuyasha should have known better than to touch what is mine! _He felt his fangs lengthen in his mouth and fought for that precious control that was slipping from him as he thought about his idiot brother and what reasons he could possibly have for taking Rin. 

Sesshoumaru forced himself to calm down and face his weakness. _Loss of control..._This just proved to him that he would have to get used to the idea of finding a mate. Rin needed a mother.

He needed to focus on what was really important. With narrowed golden eyes, he allowed his energy to pool and shift untill it became a cloud he could ride upon and he lifted himself into the air and continued west.


	6. A Strange Girl

Part 6

A Strange Girl

********

"Goodbye, Kirara! Thank you so very much!" Kagome brought her hands down away from her mouth and waved energetically at the departing youkai.

After a stop at the well and a hello and goodbye to Kaede, Kagome had collected her things and prepared to continue west. Kirara had insisted that she take them as far as they were going to go before returning to the others. And even then, she was reluctent to leave. Shippo and Rin had spent most of that time sleeping the night through pressed against Kirara's fur. 

Kagome set her things down and looked around the clearing they had landed in. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly on the dewey grass. Both children were playing a wild game of tag and were laughing and tripping up while becoming fast friends. She felt a tug of happiness that the two children could have this time to be what they were. Shippo had been forced to grow up so suddenly that he had lost his childhood innocence. He actively participated in sharing the responsibilty of helping save the world from the threat of a tarnished Shikon Jewel and Naraku. He insisted on putting aside the cares of a child and being more than he was. _He deserves more. Shippo needs what we can't give him. He needs a family that can take care of him so that he has the time to develop the things children learn when they are young. And he needs a father figure. Inuyasha is too much of a child himself to be any sort of role model. This is good for them. To be able to experience childhood with other children..._

The idea of Inuyasha as a father caused Kagome to snort with supressed laughter. _I pity the woman that has a child by that baka. _Kagome paused. The idea of Inuyasha with another woman, and with a family that didn't include her did not seem to bother her. That was strange. _Am I finally over that jerk? _She twisted her fingers in her lap while staring at them and not really seeing them. She thought this over hard. _I do not love Inuyasha! _She smiled, suddenly very content with herself. _So why does Inuyasha and Kikyo together still bother me? _She was trying to puzzle out her feelings and so when the attack came, she was unprepared.

THUD! Kagome had her face in the dirt and two sets of arms were thown around her. The children had tackled her and were hugging her with all the strength they could muster. Kagome laughed until she was able to role over and pin them down herself. With a grin that could rival the criminally insane, Kagome tickled them until they had tears rolling down their faces. When they were too limp from laughter to cause anymore trouble, Kagome let them up.

"We can't stay here. It's too open. I need a place that is easier to defend." she explained. 

"When we find a spot to stay I'll cook us some breakfast. I brought some extra things in my pack"

"Yeah! Whacha bring me?" Shippo leapt up on her shoulder. He turned to Rin. "Kagome always has the best food and candy and sometimes she brings something really special!" the kitsune jumped back down to stand beside Rin. He pulled something out of his pocket to show the girl. It was a collection of three brightly painted tops that Kagome had found in her own time. "and last time she went home she brought back icecream!" 

Rin kicked her feet in the dirt.

"I brought you something too, Rin" Kagome confessed with a wink.

Rin's eyes widened. Kagome smiled again and set off. Rin kicked at the dirt again. When Kagome was out of hearing distance, Shippo tugged at the sleave of the green t-shirt. 

"What's wrong?"

"Ummm...Rin doesn't want a gift. Rin wants Kagome to stay with her..."

Shippo watched the little girl carefully. Then he nodded solemnly. " I understand. Kagome is like my family now. She would make a good family for you too." He offered her one of his tops. 

"Yes.." the little girl said happy again. Now all she had to do is wait for the rest of her family to arrive. Then they would all be together...

********

Sesshoumaru was not very far off when he decided to stop and think. _Something is strange_. Rin was still with Inuyasha's wench and the Kitsune brat, but they never met up with his bastard half-brother. Sesshoumaru was not the type of person to rush in unprepared. _Where are they going? What is their purpose? _He did not like the way he was confused by their actions. He tried to remember everything that he could about the woman child. 

_Her smell...fresh. Clean like the world right after the rain. And flowers...a kind this Sesshoumaru has never smelled before. _He didn't know if he liked not knowing the origins of her scent. As a matter of fact, he didn't like being ignorant of anything. And he didn't like the idea that he was dwelling on her smell. What else could he remember? _That girl is a miko. She's always running about in that indecent outfit. She is always with my idiot brother... Except now...She is connected to the walking corpse Kikyo. She is strong for a human. Loyal, and spirited..._he thought about the times she had stood up to him when he challenged Inuyasha. He frowned realizing that she was one of the few humans he had some respect for. _She is a strange girl._ _Pity I will have to kill her when I catch them..._he almost smiled in anticipation. The hunt would begin now. She did not stand a chance. 


	7. The secret Heart

Part 7

The Secret Heart

********

Sesshoumaru continued walking at the same casual pace that he had started with, even though he knew he was close enough now that a single burst of speed for a few minutes would cause him to catch the stupid human that had stolen Rin. It just wasn't in his nature to run into a new situation without knowing the facts. He was not like his idiot half-brother. 

Sesshoumaru silently and effortlessly moved closer. A few more feet. A bit more and he calmly stopped. He could see, smell and hear every move that either of the children or the woman made. His mouth thinned into a hard line. _Disgracefull. That youkai child should at least have the ability to sense my presence. They are making enough noise to wake the dead. _He glanced around slowly to insure that they hadn't done just that. Then, Rin's high pitched squeal make him turn his golden eyes back to the camp. 

Kagome had grabbed the girl around the waist and had tossed her up and out of the mischievious kitsune's reach. He had one handfull of mud and a clump of the stuff stuck to the back of his own head. "Shippo!" Kagome warned. He looked sheepishly at her and stuck the dirty paw behind his back. 

"She started it."

"That's no reason to-" She stopped. Rin's breathless laughter made Kagome reaccess the fairness of her interference. She looked at the laughing girl, then down at the hopeful kit. She winked at Shippo and calmly dropped the girl back to the ground. "Okay." she said and dodged to the left. 

Sesshoumaru was frowning. 

Everyone else was laughing so hard that they didn't see him when he stepped closer. As suddenly as the mud had begun flying, it stopped. He stepped back into the shadows and waited to see what would come next. He did not understand the fun or point of the game they were playing. His Rin was filthy.

He frowned harder and then caught himself and returned the icy mask of indifference.

"Now that you are both as dirty as you can get, it's bath time!" The woman said cheerily. The little fox shrugged as if to say the mud bath was enough for him. Rin clapped her hands in delight and began dancing around merrily.

Sesshoumaru was used to issuing orders for Rin to bath but he had never recieved such a reaction from the child. He felt a stirring in his gut. He was jealous! He stepped further back into the shadows and fought himself. That human child had made him feel and now, he was not able to keep his long suppressed emotions in check. His jealously grew as he watched the woman shepard the children toward the water on the other side of the clearing. He turned and walked away. He would have to get himself under control before making a move. This _feeling_ just wasn't acceptable. No feeling was. He had learned long ago how to hide his heart in ice and now that ice was thawing. 

Besides, there was no reason not to allow the woman to complete the chore of washing up the child before he took her back. It would save him the bother. Sesshoumaru looked back once when he heard the spash of the children in the stream. To his shock, his brother's woman was dressed in an outfit even more indecent then her usual garb. He felt the heat rise to his face and touched his own cheek. He was horrified that he was blushing. That anyone, human or youkia should expose themselves so was an embarasment, he reasoned. It was disgusting, he told himself, and enticing. He growled and kept walking.

********

Kagome had striped down into her blue bathingsuit and was prepared to jump into the water with the kids when a tug at her senses made her look up. She felt as if someone was nearby, but she didn't feel any danger. _A wild animal? _Nothing moved. She shrugged and leapt in to keep the two children from dunking eachother until one of them drowned. Rin may be human, but she gave as good as she got. _They are just like brother and sister. They will miss eachother when Rin is gone. I will miss her just as much..._

********

Sesshoumaru was angry. That he couldn't keep his reactions hidden when those two humans were around was a thing he had to face. His reactions to Rin were not as violent as his responses to the miko. His brother's wench would definitely have to die. And soon. She was wrecking havoc on his senses and she wasn't even trying. That thought made him stop. _What damage could she do me if she where attempting to? _

He did not like feeling vulnerable and that is what he was. Out of control. Exposed. 

Though he did not ever show it, Sesshoumaru was a sensitive being who learned long ago that giving into the feelings of your heart only led to a pain that you could never really heal from. A pain he was not willing to expose himself to. If you care for something, it is taken from you. And it hurt. He vowed not to let others know about the things that he cared for. Not to follow his emotions and become vulnerable. He vowed to keep his heart secret. It would take a power far greater than his own to make him change his mind and break that vow. 

He knew of no such power.


	8. Meetings

Part 8

Meetings

********

Jaken stood trembling in front of the giant cat that had his precious staff of heads clenched between it's massive teeth. He didn't dare move. Two large bumps had grown on top of his head and he glared at the miserable half-demon that his master hated. 

"Try again." 

Jaken grimmaced at the scratchy voice so unlike Sesshoumaru-sama's smooth as silk tones. "I don't know."

Thwack!

"I don't know!"

Thwack!

"Inuyasha, he may be telling the truth." Miroku looked at the rising bumps on the youkai's head and felt a bit sympathetic. 

"Feh, if this worm is here, then Sesshoumaru is nearby. Where is he?"

Jaken just glared at the gaudy red of his captors pants. If he was going to get hit again, he damn well wasn't going to say anything first. 

Sango broke in when she saw Inuyasha prepare to smack the toad around some more. It really was too pityfull to watch. "Jaken -san, If you don't know where Sesshoumaru is, why are you here?" 

The toad grummbled something directed at his toes. 

"What?"

"mmmhhhllloosssshhhh"

Thwack!

"I'm lost! Lost! Okay? Lost!" he held his aching head in his hands.

He peeked up at them. They seemed amused. He grew angry.

"It's not funny!" he yelled. "I wouldn't be so disoriented if that stupid Naraku and boy hadn't--hadn't-"

He still wasn't sure what they had done. 

No one seemed amused anymore.

"Tell us." All three of them looked ready to smack him if he so much as hesitated so he took a breath and told.

He was rewarded for his promt reply by getting forcibly dragged back north east to the the damn hole that he wanted to be far away from. It would take the remainder of the day to reach that place and he knew that there was no chance of his finding Rin this day or the next. Sesshoumaru was due back in three days. He just hoped that his lord would bring him back to life with the Tenseiga after he killed him. He couldn't hope for much more.

********

Sesshoumaru stared darkly out from the forest at the woman calmly cooking at the small fire. She had washed dressed and groomed herself and the children and the results were pleasing to his senses on all accounts. He breathed deep. _She smells even better then usual. _He watched as she provided food to the children before getting some for herself. She was doing such a good job of taking care of the children.

He did not understand why she took the youkai child in, as she was human, and decided to ask her before he killed her. She treated the child as if he belonged to her. Like he was with Rin. She could explain his confusing connection to the human child to him. The longer he watched , the more questions he had to ask her. Some were so trivial, he wondered why he even thought them. _Why should I care what what the name of the flower is that I can smell on her body? Why do I want to know about the reasons she remains with my idiot brother? Why do I find that I am losing my will to kill this wench?_

He still did not approach. He did not wish for Rin to see what would happen when he confronted the woman. In truth, he wasn't sure himself what would occur. The Miko's presense seemed to stir him up no matter how much control he thought he regained. And still, it was the girl that kept him sulking in the shadows when he normally would not do such a cowardly thing.

The sun was almost down when he heard his name spoken. Rin was asking the woman something. He crept closer, remaining in the shadows. They were talking low because the kitsune had already drifted off to sleep.

"I think he will be very happy."

"Really?"

"Yes."

_Happy about what? _

"Will you be happy to see Sesshoumaru-sama too?"

The woman chuckled. "Yes, in my own way."

_What way is that? _From what he knew, she had no reason to be anything but terrified of him. It seemed she was going to answer his unspoken question. 

"You see, Rin, I care about you. And when you see Sesshoumaru, I know you will be where you are happiest. I will be glad in my heart to see you happy like that."

Rin's eyes had gotten very big. "Rin cares for Kagome-chan too." She threw her stubby arms around the woman and hugged her. 

Sesshoumaru wasn't sure what the warm feeling in him was. It was different from before. It was nice. Comforting in a way. He realized he couldn't kill the woman. Rin cared for her.

Then he was struck by another thought. He had asked himself before who would want to take care of a human child. The answer was right in front of him. _A human woman...This human woman..._The idea of being around this human woman didn't bother him as much as it should have. His decision seemed to have erased the anger and jealousy he had been fighting earlier. If he took her in as well, she would belong to him just as Rin did. He would have no reason to react strongly to a servant under his protection. It was the perfect solution. He had little time to think this through before he was focusing on their words again.

"Well, we will have two more days together before I must go back to meet my friends. We can play more games then. Oh! Shippo did we wake you?"

The kitsune rubbed his eyes and stumbled over to the blanket the girls were sitting on. "UUuuhh." He put one little paw on Kagome's leg and was asleep again. Kagome smiled and stroked the kit's hair. 

Sesshoumaru almost sighed. It seemed he would have to take in the little fox too. Perhaps that would be good for Rin. He really was getting soft. No wonder the other Youkai Lords and Ladies at court had begun talking. 

This complication in his life was unlooked for but what was he to do? Just as another evil had been set upon his lands he has to go and worry about the feelings of one human child and the woman he would make her mother.

Lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed when Rin had joined Shippo in the realm of dreams. Kagome stood up and stretched her muscles and walked silently away from the soft glow of the fire. She was making this too easy. He followed behind her until she stopped and looked into the heavens. He followed her gaze and looked at the beauty of the stars and cresent moon that dominated the sky. He stood beside her waiting for her to notice that he was there, watching the same twinkling lights for a moment before she spoke.

"You are early."


	9. The Broken Boy

Still posting! Damn this is confusing! 

Part 9

The Broken Boy

********

Sango cradled her brother's body in her arms. Try as she might, the tears just wouldn't come. She felt hollow and empty inside. She had known all along that something would happen...but she had hoped that they could find a way to save him. Hope had kept her going. Now it was as dead as the empty shell of her brother that she couldn't seem to let go of. 

Inuyasha and Miroku were still questioning Sesshoumaru's servant. The little demon didn't seem to know why they had found Kohako at the bottom of the deep hole that the youkai claimed to have been rescued from. Naraku's scent was there, but it vanished after a few feet. Only the stink of the toad's blood staining the ground testified that the creature was telling the truth. 

Sango looked up with eyes filled with sorrow. The monk, hanyou, and demon, stopped yelling at eachother long enough to feel ashamed at their behavior. Even Jaken felt he was shaming himself by getting in a screaming match with his lord Sesshoumaru's brother and companions. 

"He killed you." Sango said quietly.

"Huh?" 

"If Kohako is dead, then the Shikon shard that was keeping him alive is gone."

"Why is she looking at me like that?" Jaken was getting nervous. He inched his way behind the legs of his enemy to shield himself from the woman's eyes.

"What do you mean Sango?" Miroku said gently.

She looked down and stroked her brother's cold cheek once and then stood up. "Isn't it obvious? They killed Jaken. And saved him with the shard. Just like Kohako."

"You mean this stupid frog has the jewel shard!?" Inuyasha seemed baffled. 

"I do not!"

"Give it here, you little bastard!" Inuyasha lunged at Jaken. He dived behind the Monk. 

"Wait Inuyasha." Sango's sad and lifeless tones stopped him. "That Jewel shard was used to control my brother. They must have plans for Jaken too. "

"And if we follow him when the shard takes control, we will find Naraku." Miroku finished the thought.

"And I will have my revenge..."Sango carried her brother to Kirara's back. "Let's take him home, Kirara. I will bury him with the family." 

"We are all going." Inuyasha announced. "We do this together to the end...all of it. We will help you with your brother."

Snago looked at them and smiled a small sad smile. She nodded her understanding and made room for the monk to climb behind her.

Before he jumped onto Kirara's back, he paused beside Sango's knee and laid a hand over her own. He squeezed her fingers gently and whispered "I'm sorry." Then he let her go.

Sango was confused and comforted by his gentle touch. She stared at the hand he had held for so brief a moment and felt her eyes fill. _Finally..._Maybe there was something else to help keep her going after all.

She made no move to wipe away the proof of her grief as they flew toward the empty village that she grew up in. She let the tears fall.


	10. The First Night Together

The First Night Together...a very long chapter...I like to throw these two together and I just keep writing! I hope someone likes this! Oh, I own nothing!

Sylvannastar

  


Part 10

The First Night Together

********

_She knew I was here all along. I should have known. She never was as stupid as other humans._ He found himself glad that she was observent. Pissed that he didn't get the reaction he wanted. He wanted her afraid. He wanted her begging. Damn it! He wanted her to appreciate the good fortune of being in his company until he tired of her! 

Kagome was content to remain quiet and enjoy the night. She had little time to do such things anymore. That Sesshoumaru had not yet made any threats or moves to take her life since that afternoon when she realized that he was there, was a good sign. He might not kill her after all. Kagome relaxed and waited to see just how the Youkai Lord intended to procede.

A good fifteen minutes passed before she realized that he had no intention of making things easy for her.

The silence had started to get annoying when she decided to turn her back on the arrogant jerk of a Lord and stalk back to camp. 

Needless to say, the arrogant jerk was not amused. "I did not give you permission to leave." His voice was soft and sent shivers down Kagome's spine.

"I don't recall asking for it." She continued walking. "Besides, the children are more important than letting you prove to yourself that you are the top dog. " She smiled in the dark. "I had believed that you were already secure in your superiority over everyone and everything. Guess I was wrong."

Her sacrcasm did not go unnoticed. A low growl was all that proceeded the clawed hand that suddenly wrapped itself around her neck and jerked her back.

"Know your place, human." His eyes flashed dangerously in the dark, in the face of icy calm. 

"Don't you try to bully me, Sesshoumaru. I know my place and it is not under your heel." Kagome made no move to free herself. "Don't think that I am like others you have met. I am myself. I answer to myself." She was thinking of Inuyasha and his constant comparisons to Kikyo.

Sesshoumaru tightened his grip and enjoyed watching her struggle for breathe. That she did not struggle in any other way quickly took that joy away. _She has a stronger spirit than anyone I have ever met. Jaken has been around me for decades and he still cowers away if I look at him with displeasure. Why is she not afaid?_

_He won't kill me. He won't kill me. He won't kill me. _Kagome was chanting in her head, trying to convince herself. 

"You will never-" She coughed and stopped.

With narrowed eyes, he loosened his grip and waited for her to insult him some more so that he would feel no guilt when Rin found her gone tomorrow. He had reconsidered and killing her wasn't going to be so hard after all.

"You will never learn to understand and grow with others if you insist on standing above them. If you refuse to listen, how will you learn?" She took a deep breath. "I see that you have things to ask me. It is in your eyes."

He was curious. That she could read that in him was unexpected. He released her. Damn it! She intrigued him.

Kagome refused to rub the bruises that she knew were forming on her throat. She was not going to give him the pleasure of seeing her hurt.

His eyes searched her face. She held nothing back in her gaze. Every change of emotion was there for him to see. Her honesty with herself was astounding. He couldn't understand how she survived as long as she had. _ She dose nothing to hide her reactions or her emotions. Yet she seems strong....confident._

_What is he thinking? _Kagome was starting to question her sanity at standing up to Sesshoumaru. His face remained free of any expression and his stubborn silence kept her guessing about the eventual outcome of these events. She could only hope that he was curious enough to speak with her. 

Slowly he relaxed. She was no threat to him after all. She didn't have any weapons. He motioned for her to follow him and began to walk away. When she did not imediately follow behind him, he stopped but refused to look back at her. 

"I need to che-"

"They are both fine. I can hear their breathing and their heartbeats from here." 

Kagome couldn't argue with that and shrugged. _Well, at least he is willing to talk. _He led her to a fallen tree some distance away from the camp and she sat beside him.

A soft breeze whispered around them and blew the silky strand of his silver hair around them. Her own ebony locks contrasted sharply with the glowing light of the moon on his hair and fur. _Lord, he's beautiful! Its so unfair..._

Sesshoumaru turned his amber eyes on her and saw the look of appreciation in her eyes. _Finally. _If he could have sat up any straighter he would have. Then he saw amusement. This he didn't understand.

Kagome closed her eyes, lifted her head, and allowed the wind to blow through her hair and calm her wandering thoughts. A look of peace and contentments glowed across her features. The night was perfect. She would not waste every moment to worry. 

"What are you thinking?" Sesshoumaru was facinated. _What would I give to feel so tuned to this world? She is happy. When was I last so innocent and content? _He looked up at the stars he had admired earlier. 

"Just that moments like this are why we live. A random point in time that we are content to simply enjoy being alive in." Kagome opened her dark eyes and turned to face him. "When I am faced with hard times, these types of memories make me remember that life is worth living." 

"Only a fool would not be glad to be alive." He sounded digusted.

Kagome chuckled. The husky sound made him turn his focus to her softly smiling mouth. "Living and being alive are not the same thing." 

Her smile faded as he continued to stare at her. "What is it that you wish to ask me?" She decided to be direct. 

A multitude of questions swirled though his head. "What is the name of the flower you carry on your scent?" _Why the hell did I ask her that?! _"It is distracting." _True enough, but why would I say that?_ He was temped to scowl at his own lapse in sanity that seemed to be ruling his mouth. Incomplete thoughts were tumbling end over end in his mind and only her scent seemed to remain constant. It was driving him crazy.

Kagome was properly shocked. The serious and lifechanging conversation she was expecting to have was going to start with a question about her perfume. 

"Dis-Distracting?"

He said nothing.

"It's a combination of Ylang-Ylang and Myrrh. And I used a Lavender shampoo today." 

She peeked up at him, perplexed by his question.

Still he said nothing.

Kagome sighed impatiently. _So much for conversation. _

"Look," she said, "why don't we try switching off. You ask one question then I ask one. Then perhaps we will get somewhere before morning."

"Ask your question then, human." 

His abrupt acceptance suprized her but she wasn't going to pass over the chance to learn what she could while he still found her interesting enough to keep alive. "Mmm," she began, "Where did Rin come from?"

Sesshoumaru thought back to when Rin first found him wounded and stranded near her village. The child had not been discouraged by anything he said to her and was persistant in her attemps to help him. "I found her after her village was attacked by wolves." 

"So now she follows you?"

"It is my turn to question you."

Kagome frowned at him. _So arrogant! Grrr..._

"Why do you, a human, care for the Kitsune?" 

"He was a child that needed me. I could not have left him behind after we, Inuyasha and I, found him trying to get revenge for his father's death. Shippo is a part of my family here. Being human or youkai has nothing to do with it. I can not explain..."Kagome paused. "I love him and so will do anything I can for him so that he can be all that he has the potential to be when he grows."

"I know that you care nothing for humans. You made that clear the very first time I ever saw you. You still call me 'Human' as if it were a curse. I do have a name you know. But, Rin loves you...she has seen something in you, Sesshoumaru, that allows her to look past that. My question is to know why do you now care for a human child?"

"I, Sesshoumaru, have not changed. Humans will always be inferior to youkai. Rin chooses to follow me. That is a question you should ask her." Sesshoumaru was desperate not to let this woman know that he had no idea why he had taken the child in. _A question...Distract her with a question..."_Do you care for Rin?"

"Yes." Kagome did not explain why. If he was going to be so difficult, then so was she. She noticed how he had not really answered her last question. "Do you?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eye. It was beneath him to lie. "She is my responsibility."

"That is not what I asked you, though. Do you care for her?"

He looked away. _Care? Do I care for anything? _Kagome shifted and pulled her knees up to her chest where she then rested her chin. _She does not seem any weaker for her admission...can I care with out it weakening me? _He could feel every movement that the woman made. When Sesshoumaru looked down at her again she was looking up at him with the starlight shimmering in her eyes and on her hair. He stared.

She stared right back. _With the moon light streaming behind him, he looks like an angel. _She contemplated the mystery before her. _ Are you and angel of death or an angel of mercy? _

"Yes."

"Huh?" Kagome had lost her train of thought.

"Is that your question?"

_He's teasing me! _Kagome was suprized. She smiled at him and felt a weight lift from her shoulders. "No that wasn't. It was your turn and sinse I have just answered it...now its my turn."

She asked the one thing that had been worrying her sinse his arrival. "What are you intending to do with us now?"

"You will become Rin's mother." Sesshoumaru was amused by her confusion and shock. "I, Sesshoumaru, have already decided." 

Kagome felt her face grow hot. "You-I-You decided?! I can't be anyone's mother! That is ridiculous." Kagome frowned at him uncaring that he seemed unperturbed by her outburst. 

"Rin needs a mother." was all he said back. 

The long silence that followed was broken only by the wind that was whistling through the giant trees around them.

Finally Kagome got herself under control. "That may be, but she would be unwilling to leave your side to come with me. And I am not-"

"She will not be leaving me." He snarled in an uncharacteristic show of emotion. Kagome shrank back and eyed him with distrust. "You will be joining her."

"WHAT?"

Sesshoumaru winced at her screetch and stood up. He looked down his perfect nose at her and let her see his displeasure. Then he began to walk away. "I will return by this time tomorrow. Be here." 

Kagome watched him vanish into the dark. She knew she looked stupid with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wider than normal but she was having difficulty with just breathing much less ordering her features into a more acceptable expression. _I think I'm gonna faint...Oh Kami! He said-I need-Oh, Kami! _She gulped in air and felt her anger at him and herself growing. _What do I do now? _She could think of only one thing to say in response. "Shit."

Sesshoumaru felt himself purring in pleasure for the way he had left the human woman. He had little fear that she would not be there the next day. If she dared try to defy him he would simply go after her. Either way, he now had his problem with Rin solved. He didn't need to take a mate. And now he could focus on the important matter of keeping the Western Lands safe. _The news the council gave me was not good. It is time I went looking for the evidence that the Demon is free from the land of the dead. If it is so, then how? How did it get free from my father's seal? And who has it taken possession of now? _

Contrary to Kagome, Sesshoumaru determined that he must put their meeting into the past where it would hold little importance amongst his other memories. He had other, more important things, than those two humans to think about. _Vastly more important...Like if the demon intends to search out my family for revenge now that father is dead. Or how I am to defeat the creature if I do not yet know who it resides in. Or where Jaken has gone to. I can still smell her...damn her. _He did his best to resist the urge to turn back and kept walking. After all, the barrier he had just set up around the camp would not be easily broken down. No one could get in. No one could get out. He just wished he could see her face when she discovered how easily he could keep her. She now belonged to him. 


	11. Naraku's Dilema

Part 11

Naraku's Dilema

********

He was slumped against the walls of his castle when Kagura found him. She stayed back, unsure as to what mood the bastard would be in. He was acting strangely. 

She watched in alarm as Naraku clutched at his head and hissed. He was gasping for breath and seemed to be in great pain. How this was going to affect her was uncertain so she hung back, as far from his reach as she could physically get. He panted and growled and then turned his eyes her direction. They were black under his heavy eyelids, with no white arround them at all. She gulped and pressed herself to the wall as he stumbled onto his knees.

"Ka-Ka-gura..." he stammered. "Kill...me," he whispered. "Kill me....now!" His eyes flickered back to the normal though slightly red ones of the human who's body he had stolen.

"What?!"

"Now!"

She pulled out her fan and with shaking fingers flicked it open. She was waiting for him to attack her, thinking this was some sort of trick. But, God, how she wanted him dead! She drew back preparing to strike.

Suddenly his eyes went black again and he bellowed and roared so harshly the castle shook, throwing her to her knees. 

"You can't keep it from me! It's mine now!"

Kagura looked up in alarm. She did not recognize the voice coming from Naraku's mouth. 

"Thank you," the voice said, those stange black eyes looking at her. "Thank you for failing again..." A gleam of pointed white teeth and he was gone. 

Kagura climbed slowly to her feet and looked around. He was gone. She rushed into the room looking for the jars that had held the hearts of his children, praying that none were broken. They were intack though knocked over on the floor. She scooped them all up like infants and crooned to them all. She was not sure which was hers so they all held equal importance. 

She was still holding them when the first began to shake. Soon they all vibrated and rattled while she looked down in horror. "Oh, God!" She tryed to put them down carefully and retreat, but the first jar shattered as her hand left its smooth surface. 

She screamed in rage and panic and felt her eyes fill with tears. "No! NO...NO!" 

Some distance away, a new voice was laughing. It sang in the broken and choppy way that children do when they do not know all the words to the song. "Free...free again...killing...going to kill...free now..."

Naraku's form danced a few steps and then said in a serious voice. "Here puppy! Where are you?" 

He stepped into the night and paraded around the empty grounds of the castle for a time. "I must get used to this new body. So many things to do and smell..." a russle in the brush made him turn his head. "...and eat!" He leapt after the noise and out of sight of any one who might have been left to watch Naraku's strange behavior.

The castle started to disolve the moment that he withdrew his youki from it. He had plans for all the strength that this creature possessed. Holding together a castle he had no intentions of using was a waste of energy, just as the disattachments and puppets had been. But no more. He was out. He was free. He was going to find the great dog demon that had sealed him in the spirit world and return the favor! For centuries he had been plotting this revenge.

And now, thanks to the appearance of a lone Shikon Shard, he had been sought out and freed from his seal. Now he had a huge chunk of the Jewel, the impressive energies of the new body he controlled and a hunger that only the white dog demon would fulfill. 

Laughing in bursts of madness, the monster in a Naraku skin skipped out of the mountains and onto the path that would lead him to his goal. The Jewel called out to its other pieces and he had set up that toad so easily! Before his host had even realized that he was there! Now, he just had to discover which of the three remaining auras from the jewel belonged to his guide, Jaken. That little toad was going to take him right to his prey! 

The closest pull of the jewel shards was to the north. Further in the mountains he walked, humming strange and disjointed tunes as he went.

Next Chapter: The Pride of the Wolf Prince in progress!


	12. The Pride of the Prince

Part 12

The Pride of the Prince

********

Sesshoumaru was still walking his borders that following evening, when he picked up the scent of his enemy. It wasn't the one he was looking for but an enemy none the less. His eyes narrowed in delight. He would now have the chance to dangle his brother's woman in front of him and the idea of taunting the half-demon sent a delicious feeling through him. 

He followed the obvious trail that his brother had left and found himself in a hurry to meet the half-wit. _Inuyasha, this will be the second mate you have lost. You do not take care of what you claim. Now she is lost to you. How will you take it, I wonder?_

He leapt into the clearing that his brother was in the process of marking. His sudden appearance caused three expected gasps and one he was not prepared for. _I never rush in. Damn it, I was too hasty._

"Sesshoumaru-sama! You came for me! I knew you wouldn't leave your servant in the hands of the enemy! Oh, this Jaken is so happy!"

"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha growled. "I'll not give you the sword!"

Sesshoumaru ignored his brother and glared at the toad youkai instead. "You lost her."

An audible gulp came from the green throat. Sesshoumaru then turned his back on the terrified creature. "Inuyasha, why do you have this Sesshoumaru's servant in your possession? You must realize that I have the better part of the trade."

Inuyasha halted his swing of the sword in mid swipe. "Huh?"

"Did you really think I would give you back the woman just because you have picked up this worthless creature?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama..." Jaken squeaked. His master glared him into silence. 

"He can not even follow the simplest of commands."

"What woman?" Inuyasha looked confused. 

"..." Sesshoumaru almost smiled. That idiot didn't even know yet that the human Miko was missing. "Your ignorance astounds me. Jaken, wash that stink off yourself before you return to my presence. You smell like my brother."

Inuyasha dumbly watched his brother walk away. "Hey, you Bastard...What woman?" Inuyasha's frustration was easy to scent.

Sesshoumaru turned back to look once more at the befuddled group. "Your woman. Surely you haven't forgotten her already? Aren't you missing a Miko?" He actually did smile now. 

"K-Kikyo!" Inuyasha sputtered. "What have you done-"

"My, my...Still wound up on that corpse. That is even more disgraceful then taking a second mate and losing her too." 

"What?" Inuyasha's voice had dropped to a whisper. "I have no other...Kagome..."

"Indeed."

"You-you-you-" Inuyasha couldn't seem to grasp his brother's meaning. "WHAT?! I don't believe-"

"Do not continue that thought. This Sesshoumaru does not lie, as well you know. The woman is beyond your reach now." His smile was playful and terrible. He turned to leave. "Oh, and keep the sword. Your need of it is much greater then my own." 

"SESSHOUMARU-SAMA! Don't leave me...." Jaken whimpered as his master disappeared in the forest.

"You ASS! Tell me where you have Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled.

"No...not Kagome too. I can't have lost her too..." Sango cried shaking. Miroku wrapped an arm around her and steadied her. Kirara stood all her fur on her back up and hissed at the empty place that the youkai lord had just stood.

********

Kouga shifted his weight from his toes to his heals and regarded his assembled tribe in wonder. The mismatched group of warriors and pups stood tall and proud in front of him.

"We're with you, Prince Kouga!" a wolf man shouted from the back.

"She has already proven herself to be an asset to her pack and has helped yours as well." An elder wolf spoke from the council. "She has our approval if you are truly determined to mate with the girl." 

Kouga grinned. This was just as he always imagined it would be. The council would give in gracefully to his choice and he would then leave to find his mate and return with her to his tribe. He had just not counted on the girl being human. Most wolves don't choose a mate from other species, but this girl was special and had already played a big part in his life and the lives of all his pack members.

"Kagome, I'll be there soon to save you from dog-breath..." his tail wagged in pleasure and anticipation.

Nothing had prepared him for the elation he felt when the whole of the tribe supported him. Kouga was the leader, but that is not why they follow him. They respected the wolf prince and he was a worthy youkai to lead them all!

Kouga stalked on his long legs to the entrance of the cave and took a deep breath. The clean air added a sense of vibrancy and action that triggered a need to revel in his world. He howled loudly and was rewarded by the laughter and joint howling of the other wolf youkai.

"Happy are you?" one of the elders grinned. Kouga let his joy in life show and cuffed the nearest youth across the head gently. A friendly scuffle was a welcome distraction in these times of war. A full out brawl was sure to evolve from this, but he intended to be long gone in search of the woman he had chosen to bare his pups and continue his line.

Kagome was the perfect creature to match him. She was strength and beauty. She was mother and mate and was going to be his as much as he was already hers. Wolves mate for life. He would never choose another.

Kouga found himself daydreaming about the changes in his life that would be coming soon. Some of them he agonized over for the wait while others...he was uncertain how drastic the change in lifestyle would be for both himself and Kagome. 

_Could Kagome handle the pack responsibilites? She will be the pack mother...I wonder if she even knows what that means..._

Crash!

Kouga looked up suddenly. His instinct told him something was wrong. Something was coming. All the previous joy melted away from him leaving him hard and tense.

The dog fight behind him was ignored and the soft growl that he issued from between clenched teeth sent the fur standing up on the back of the neck for those who could hear it. 

_Naraku...I smell Naraku. I'll kill that bastard hanyou. _All thoughts except for his desire to avenge his slaughtered pack members and end the disgraceful existence of the cowardly demon spider fell from his mind. He was consumed by his need to kill that half-demon who had proven over and over again how he lacked any honor.

Kouga put himself into a more defensive crouch and warned the others with a long steady howl. "Return! Return! You are needed!" It seemed to say. Wolves and wolf youkai trotted from the woods and from inside the caves. The warriors started to gather and watched the hard cold eyes of their leader. 

Kouga bristled and scanned the treeline. "Naraku!" He growled loudly, his voice oddly gruff and gravelly. "Get the council members out of here." He demanded. "And send an escort...with our youngest..."

"But Kouga..." one young wolf whined.

"Now!" he snarled.

He looked into the eyes of the oldest council member for a long moment, icy blue eyes meeting amber. "If anything happens to me..."

"She already has the protection of the pack. That can never be taken back." The old wolf said.

Kouga nodded once and faced the forest. _Kagome...I'll find you later. But first, I'll kill this monster for you. It'll be my gift to you. Proof that I care...I'll bring you Naraku's head and dog-turd can say nothing then, and you will finally be free to come with me._

He howled once more inanger and challenge. It was a wild call that was taken up by the remaining warriors and resounded through the forest, shattering the stillness of the evening.

_Naraku, I'll kill you...or I'll die trying._


	13. Kouga's Wish

I am so sorry that I have not updated this fic before now! This one isn't written out like my other one, so I am writing as I go and I have been pulling my hair out trying to gather my thoughts on how I want this to continue. See, I like Kouga too much to really kill him off...but he can't stay as he is either...I think I finally came up with the solution. Though it will take a few chapters to find out what I mean...^.^ 

  


Writers block is apparently over, but this fic will still be updated no more then once a week. School and a screaming toddler insure that! But, I will do my best to make sure each chapter is long enough to keep the story moving at a good pace.

  


Thank you to all the reviewers!

  


Sylvannastar

Part 13

Kouga's Wish

  


Sesshoumaru followed the wind and considered his actions from earlier that day. _Why did I run in there like some spoiled unweaned pup? I know better. _He sniffed the breeze and turned toward the smell of water. _It must be that woman. She still clouds my senses, impairs my judgement. I rushed in just to see his face when he found out I have the girl...to tell him she's mine. Mine..._

  


The blue mountains rose around him, reminding him that he was on the borders of his territory. The gentle slope of the foot lands was laid out at his feet, wreathed in mist and shadow. Evening had fallen and the first stars would be sure to appear soon. The moon was waning, a sign that Inuyasha would start getting edgy about the loss of his youkai blood. 

  


Sesshoumaru thought about the humans waiting for him in the west. He found himself slightly eager to return. His arguing with the Miko was strangely refreshing, as well as aggravating. He found her to be...stimulating. 

  


_A mere human woman intrigues me. I would have never thought-but then, she is no ordinary girl. And now I can pick her apart at my leisure. I will have all the answers I require and perhaps I will enjoy the process of extracting this information. I will break her slowly, until her only thought will be to serve this Sesshoumaru's every wish..._Sesshoumaru was satisfied with his own musings, taking pleasure even in the imaginary tortures he had planned.

  


He began the long trek back to the camp. It would only take him a few hours to return, but there was no relaxing on this journey. There were too many things that weighed on his mind. 

  


Sesshoumaru had many enemies. The western lands themselves brought many of them upon him. Many harbored a lust for the power and prestige his position awarded him. There were a few who thought that his tasks were easy and that he was ruling only because he was born to it, but in reality, he had fought for every square inch of these lands. His biggest problems were just beginning to weigh on him. As time went on, the responsibility of his station seemed to grow heavier. And he had no one to share it with. This was his heritage. He would live and bleed and die here for this place and its people, just like his father before him. 

Skirting the obvious paths that the other animals treaded, he worked his way down the rocky slopes. The tall trees dwarfed him in this form, great towering giants that swayed in the wind and rose to impossible heights. The thick underbrush melted in front of him, courtesy of his poison claws, when it became too thick to simply push aside. He kept his pace steady and unhurried. He refused to allow those two humans to effect him so much that they could change his speed. It was inconceivable that he would hurry for a human...

  


Another scent tickled his nose. There were wolves near by. He scented the air and calculated the distance between himself and the closest scent. They were still a good distance away, but they were headed in his general direction. Sesshoumaru considered waiting or leaving...along with the wild wolf smell he had detected fear. It could be a problem, and even if it was, it was not on his lands. But, if they were headed toward him, whatever was scaring the normally ferocious youkai tribe would be following along behind them and would soon be trespassing on his lands.

  


To drive the wolf tribe out was not an easy feat. There had to be something powerful at work here...He decided to wait for the first pack members to touch their paws on his ground before making a move.

  


****

  


Kouga sneered at the apparition defiling the purity of the den. He had thrown his heart into this place. This was his home and so, was the home of his people and would be the place that he would bring his mate. For two years, he had searched and strived to find the perfect den...It had to be a place untainted by darkness and bad memories for her. He would settle for nothing but the absolute best for her.

  


Kouga shivered and felt his muscles contort as he resisted the change in form that his demon rage would transform him into. With the change came a basic loss of rational thought...a draw back to a youkai's true form. The wolf felt the pain of his resistance but demanded nothing more then what he knew he could handle from himself. The scent of fear was so thick in the air, he felt queasy. He could see the effect that this monster's presence had on his remaining people. Several of the youkai wolves couldn't contain their whimpers and showed signs of submission already. Tails tucked and ears flat, they had already begun to give up.

  


"No." He growled loudly. "We will not submit!" 

  


The creature in front of him giggled. "Submit? I want nothing from you, weak mongrel...where is the white dog?" 

  


"Naraku!" Kouga barked, "I will kill you for what you have done!" 

  


He ignored the strange way that Naraku was acting and the lack of weaker Youkai that always surrounded him. He ignored it because he was so focused on getting his revenge. He was prepared to take any opportunity that presented itself to him. He was willing to take the chance that this was just another trap and hopefully beat this hanyou conglomeration as the coward he knew Naraku to be.

  


The handsome face of the dark hanyou lost it's smile. "Try."

  


Enraged, Kouga hesitated only long enough to gauge the distance between him and his most hated enemy. _I'll only have one chance at this...I can not afford to over shoot. _He knew his eyes had begun to glow red, and he gave himself over to the primal lust for the blood of his enemy that urged him on. 

  


He charged the still figure, a statue of the evil creature that had ordered the murder of more then half of his tribe. A demon that had threatened the life of his chosen mate repeatedly while Kouga could do nothing. A monster that took pleasure in destroying the very world that provided the beautiful things that were worth living for. Kouga hated this hanyou with his entire being...except...one small part...

  


A snarl broke from his lips when he felt the tips of his claws miss the intruder by a hair. Naraku moved with the same speed of the wolf. He dodged the blow and calmly hooked his claws in Kouga's fur, ripping the hide into long gashes.

  


"You have shards of this thing?" he held up the almost complete jewel. "I want them..."

  


"Go to Hell!" Kouga ignored the blood dripping from his fingertips. 

  


"I'm looking for the puppy!" Naraku sing-songed. "Aren't you supposed to kill me?" 

  


Kouga yelled in fury and jumped at the figure again, the two shards in his legs no match for the almost complete jewel in the other's possession. He knew the power of the jewel. Hell, he'd even sought after it once himself. Not because he wanted power, but because he wanted to keep his people safe. Until he met Kagome...then, he wanted nothing more then to rid this world of the very demon standing so calmly in front of him. But the part of him that was linked to the human woman could not hate...not even facing this abomination, a part of him remained free of anger and hate. It was the part of him that loved her...above all things, including his hate and revenge.

  


And it was that part that made him falter now...__

  


Kouga was afraid for his people and the kind heart of his mate to be. He was afraid that Naraku would always be loose upon this earth, hurting forever the people he lived to protect.He did not think that he could beat Naraku when he held the power of the jewel, but, he would go down trying...__

  


_Kagome...no matter what, I wish that I could be near you always...I wish that I could be there to protect you when this monster comes your way._ He ran at the Hanyou, using his speed to the best of his ability and strangely, found that his mind was not on the battle in front of him, but on the girl he feared he would never see again. This distraction, he knew, was going to cost him his life.

  


****

  
  



	14. Kagome's Nature

  


Kagome's Nature

The Pulse

*****

  


The red of the sunset was fading slowly to a dusky purple though the clouds above still seemed to glow crimson. The stream below them gave off little curls of mist that would be sure to develop into a dense fog before morning. The last of the natural light died gracefully on the horizon and it's reflection on the water seems to hover for a few moments more to the human who watched the display from her perch near the base of a massive tree. 

  


She lingered here, looking for answers in the peace of her surroundings to questions she couldn't quite voice. A heavy sigh was rewarded instantly with a comfortable pat on her head. She rolled her eyes up dramatically and pretended she could see through the top of her head to the little form clasped tightly to her, using her hair as a nest.

  


"Shippo, don't worry so much. We'll find a way out of this." She tried assuring the kitsune but so far, all her words had fallen on deaf ears. He tangled her mane in another knot as he wriggled around until he could pear down at her, bracing his front paws on her forehead. He didn't say anything, he just gave her that disbelieving look that she had been getting all day.

  


Rin was calmly running in fast circles, trying to catch the first fireflies that had begun their nightly dance. "Shippo-kun, Kagome-sama is right. Sesshoumaru-sama would never hurt you. He's the best!" she said brightly. "Sesshoumaru-sama saved Rin."

  


"Rin, sweetheart," she heard the little girl giggle at the endearment. "Please don't call me Kagome-sama." she requested yet again.

  


Rin gave her a perplexed look and announced for the fourth time that day, "Sesshoumaru-sama wouldn't like it if Rin didn't...Sesshoumaru-sama claimed you."

  


"He did not claim me." Kagome was losing her carefully harnessed calm. These two days had proven to be too much. She had not expected the Youkai Lord to return so early or for him to do such an outrageous thing as to demand her service for what would probably prove to be the rest of her luckless life. This added stress to her already buckling nerves was making her testy and jumpy with even the children.

  


She had been so pissed with his High and Mighty and his overblown attitude of suffering indulgence. When he had walked away from her last night, she had been stunned into immobility long enough for that arrogant jerk to set up a barrier. A very well made barrier that she could not break or bend. 

  


She scowled. Just thinking about the pompousness of his orders made her cringe in distaste. _Damn him...How do I always fall prey to these stupid kinds of events? Now Inuyasha will have to come save me again and I'll never hear the end of it. _ Kagome leaned back against the rough bark of the tree and contemplated the missing Demon Lord. His unconcern for Rin bordered on negligence as far a she was concerned. He hadn't even stayed to assure the girl that he would be back for her...from where ever it was he had gone. She shook her head. _I am so going to make him regret this when he gets back and takes down that damn shield. _

  


_"You will be Rin's mother" _ floated through her head again. His voice, she could recall with prefect clarity, was smooth as silk and about as emotional as a brick, for all that she knew he cared about the child. Suddenly she had an idea. She grinned in amusement and concentrated her powers to form a barrier of her own...a few feet inside the Demon Lord's magical prison. She may not be able to leave, but now, no one could not get in either...she chuckled, imagining the look on Sesshoumaru's face...that is if he ever decided to show expression. _Strange that the undead Miko Kikyo showed more emotion then the living Dog Demon... _

  


She felt the weight on top of her head shift again. Shippo had been clinging to some part of her person since the morning sun had risen and she had explained Sesshoumaru's nightly visitation.

  


The kitsune had not been happy. 

  


A strange feeling slithered over her, touching her already raw nerves and making her cringe. She felt the heat concentrating in a hollow near her neck. Reaching up with one shaking hand, she felt the burning of the jewel shards through her shirt. "What-" she wondered, pulling the broken necklace from under her clothing. It glowed an eerie pink, nestled innocently in the palm of her hand. 

  


"What is going on?" she lightly poked and prodded the jewel around with one delicate finger and stared at the odd glow. "The shikon..."

  


It began to pulse. It was as if the jewel had picked up a heart beat and was coming to life under her nose. The slight breeze that had been cooling and ruffling her clothing stilled. The birds and insects silenced themselves and hid in the dense foliage, waiting and watching. But for what? Kagome didn't like the quiet. She never had.

  


The pulse sped up and grew in intensity, lighting the world like flashes of lightning on a storm soaked night. Though it was acting in such an odd fashion, Kagome felt no lingering touches of evil on the jewel. What ever was making the broken sphere react so, was doing it with the best of intentions. The jewel was not being tainted in any way.

  


Kagome cocked her head to one side and stared hard at the little piece of crystal that had made such a mess of her life and the lives of many others. She sadly pictured in her mind the vast number of lives and tears that had been shed for those lost to the greedy souls who sought after this thing. It was a grim thing that such a tiny object could cause so much hate and violence in the hearts of others. 

  


It's purity in the young miko's grasp was just as intense as the tainted throb of Naraku's portion of the sacred jewel. She couldn't help but wonder if this was somehow his doing...but, when the jewel did nothing more then illuminate the surrounding forest in regular intervals, she relaxed and tucked the bead back into her shirt. 

  


She felt slightly tired and drained, as if she had spent the day exerting all her strength on some strenuous task rather then fuming over her forced captivity. She decided to rest. After all, what more could possibly happen?

  


************************************************************************

  


Kouga cracked open one swollen eye and searched with his dazed senses for the source of the sound that had dragged him back from the black abyss. A black clad foot centered in the warped haze that consumed his mind. Unable to turn his head to see the new threat hovering over him, Kouga growled a warning and tried to smell the creature.

  


The strong odor of dog demon was almost swallowed by the lingering scent of blood, wolf, and Naraku's miasma poison. "Leave," he growled at the demon. Nothing moved, but Kouga could feel the energy from the other presence swirl in angry response. 

  


"You are trespassing," a cold voice replied. 

  


The toe of one shoe moved ever so slightly and Kouga almost missed the movement. "Trespassing?" Kouga whispered, mostly to himself. "Am I not still in the Northern Lands?" He tried to lift himself on one bloody arm and failed. "Damn it..."

  


"You have entered the Western Lands," the cold voice continued. Then, the feet that had suddenly entered his line of vision abruptly left it. The soft tread of sound from the demon Lord's movements would have been lost to him completely if his ear had not been pressed to the ground.

  


"The west...I ran that far?" Kouga coughed and felt the warm slick touch of blood slide down his throat. He knew he should be dead, and he would be if the shards in his body had not repelled the demon Naraku's touch. "Naraku chased me that far?"

  


The wolf couldn't contain a yelp of surprise and pain from pouring form his broken body when he was abruptly jerked upward in a solid grasp to face the Lord of the West. "Naraku?" the cool voice was tainted now by a touch of venom. "That coward hanyou is in my lands?"

  


Kouga could now see the deadly and beautiful visage of Lord Sesshoumaru, a demon he had no wish to be on bad terms with. The silver demon gleamed in the fading light, his features haloed in the dusky pink and gold of the setting sun. Evening was falling and Kouga felt the bite of a lonely night to come. The pain of his injuries was nothing compared to the agony he felt in his heart. "Y-yes..." he whispered in answer to the question. 

  


"Why?" The Dog demanded.

  


Kouga coughed blood and the sharp grasp on his shoulders loosened. "The shards..." Kouga sputtered, "he was after the shards."

  


Sesshoumaru grimaced at the pitiful creature in front of him. The broken body of the wolf reeked of the poison Naraku used, but the scent of the actual half demon himself was absent. From the shape the wolf was in, it was obvious that he had not succeeded in defeating the hanyou.

  


Sesshoumaru used this time to observe the demon in his grasp. He was no ordinary wolf, that was easy to tell, but was a high born tribe member. He was alone, but the scent of others still carried on the wind to the dog's sensitive nose. How this creature had beaten the others of his pack here was undetermined. And Sesshoumaru did not like uncertainties. 

  


A closer inspection of the noble revealed a strange fluctuation in his Youki. He had the normal power signature of a wolf, a demon, and a member of nobility, but there was another energy he emitted that was uncommon. It was similar to the aura of the human Miko he now had in his care.

  


He frowned, finding his thoughts directed back to the ningen even after all his determined focusing to forget her. It was wasted by this strange reminder. He had to return tonight to the camp in the west where his ward and her new "mother" waited for him. The wolf was not worth his time, but Naraku...that was a thorn in his side that he could not afford to ignore.

  


Sesshoumaru knew all about the jewel shards and his half-brother's pathetic attempts at heroism and the accomplishments and failures the half human mutt subjected himself to. The quest for the shards had been on going for quite some time and though he had no personal interest in the jewel itself, the Taiyoukai knew that others did. Naraku was one of those others.

  


Naraku had dared in the past to take advantage of Sesshoumaru's ignorance of the matter of the shards and that was a mistake he would not repeat or forgive the bastard for. The insult to his pride and his honor was not lightly accepted by the Inu Youkai. Even beyond that, the hanyou bastard had mocked Sesshoumaru by presuming to touch his property, namely by kidnaping Rin, insulting him by assuming that the human child had enough sway over the lord's actions to warrant a single-minded rescue, and most recently, had attempted to absorb his person into the collective body of demons that created Naraku, to steal the lord's strength for his own twisted uses. 

  


Sesshoumaru had a score to settle with this particular hanyou and nothing short of a long and prolonged torturous death would satisfy. If Naraku was after the shards, and was in the western lands, he would undoubtedly be searching for his half-brother and his pack of misfits too. That meant that he would be after the girl Sesshoumaru had stolen from his brother, seeing as she was the one that carried the shards of the jewel. That meant that Rin was in danger...

  


Sesshoumaru dropped the wolf with out a second thought and raced away so quickly, he appeared to vanish all together. It wasn't until he was too far away to turn back that he remembered that he had forgotten to demand to know why the demon spider had not succeeded in stealing the wolf's shards...after all, they had been glowing in a regular pulse from the wolf's legs, announcing to any who cared to look, of their presence...

  


******************************************************************************

  


The stillness that penetrated the air with the dog demon's abrupt departure screamed of danger and barely controlled rage. The very growth of the earth that Kouga could sometimes feel pulsing with its own heart beat was now holding it's breath. Kouga's breath hitched in unintentional sympathy.

  


He tried once more to get his limbs under him and drag himself to shelter. It was unfortunate that he was left to greet death is such a way...after so satisfying a council meeting. When his forearms refused his weight, he crashed back down to the earth that was fast becoming muddy with his own blood. "Damn it," he ground out. 

  


The wounds, horrible as they were, should have closed by now. They would have disappeared thanks to his demonic healing abilities, except Naraku had sunk his greedy talons in his flesh just long enough to spread his poison. The pain that Kouga was fighting was not so much from the gashes and broken bones, but from the fire eating away at him from the inside. He was left wondering why the demon had recoiled so suddenly from him when he tried to touch the jewel shards. Kouga was aware that the shards had started to glow strangely and was prepared for their inevitable loss. Instead of having the shikon ripped from the skin of his legs, Naraku had been flung away in an explosion of light and power that Kouga did not summon, nor had any control over. It did not hurt him, but the charred edges of Naraku stunk in the heavy air. He sighed, knowing that he would be left to wonder why the shards had protected him voluntarily and then refused to lend their considerable power to heal him...

  


Gathering the last of his courage, Kouga braced himself to roll over, wanting to see the sky and the green earth before he lost consciousness for the last time. He barley managed to contain his yelp of pain by growling loudly into the darkening sky. 

  


The first evening star twinkled merrily from its home above the treetops. It seemed to be aggressive in its bright flickering, or maybe that was his vision failing...Kouga tried to take a deep breath of the cool night air but found his chest restricted by numerous broken ribs. The slight glow of the moon would be his only comfort in this fading moment. 

  


A twinge of pain shot up his back bone, curving his spine until he was afraid that it would snap him in two. He screamed silently, as he had no breath for it to be vocalized. The twisting heat faded just as quickly followed by a numbness that scared him. Kouga stretched his fingers toward the north, where all his hopes for a future had been brutally violated and whimpered for his loss, for his people's loss...for Kagome and all his dreams.

  


Those same fingers curled into a fist and pushed his long claws into the flesh of his palm, spilling more of his blood. Even in the time that he was facing his own demise, her face calmed him. His blood sang for her, called for her. Ever since that first time he had touched her skin with his fingertips, there had been a connection there. It was a sensation of everything being right in the world, and things that were not, would be soon enough, if she were there by his side. If nothing else, his love for her was true.

  


Kouga sighed, knowing that he had no desire to die with hate in his heart, If he had to go, then he wanted to find a last measure of peace to comfort his soul. He knew that there was no thought or feeling more pure then that of his woman and her loving nature. Kagome would not mind if he died with her name on his lips...

  


With a final smile, Kouga found the breath to make a dying wish that expressed his greatest desire. "Kagome, I wish I could stay at your side to love you and protect you forever..." 

  



End file.
